wait until you see what happens when julie watts turns off the lights. >>> reporter: we have covered this in glow germ to illuminate the bacteria you're trying to wash away. look at my hands. you might expect it there. but check out the counter next to the sink. and take a look at the fridge. feet away all of this potentially dangerous bacteria spread across the kitchen simply because we tried to wash it away. >> once you start to introduce water, you start to give that bacteria the chance to mobilize. they can't fly. they can't jump. but once you give them water they can start to move around in the kitchen environment. >> reporter: she says if germs were visible to the naked eye you would see that washing poultry doesn kill it, it spreads he it all over the condition. >> you have this tiny microscopic spray. >> reporter: that can be dangerous especially for children, pregnant women and the elderly. according to the centers for disease control over 100,000 people are hospitalized each year due to food-borne illness but in spite of the warnings old habits die-hard. >> i don't like all

julie watts, kpix5. >> julie says the safest way to get a gift card is buy it directly from the retailer from behind the counter. you do buy a card from the mall kiosk, check the back carefully to look for signs of tampering. >>> it's beginning to look a lot like christmas, especially at the white house. first lady michelle obama, her daughters and the family dogs received the official white house christmas tree this afternoon. it's an 18 1/2 foot douglas fir grown in pennsylvania. it will be decorated with photos of military homecomings put on display in the blue room of the white house. >>> it's officially the holidays in san francisco's union square. families and friends gathered for the 24th annual tree lighting celebration tonight. the tree is 83 feet tall lit with more than 33 throughout lights and decorated with 1100 ornaments. it's just beautiful. >> then everybody went ice skating. >> it's true. they went ice skating and also they went sledding. >> i heard about that. >> it's a miracle. >> yes, it's a christmas miracle in the bay area. san rafael had snow today. let us show you

kpix 5 consumerwatch reporter julie watts with how much social media users are revealing. >>> reporter: twitter, facebook, instagram, social media is a cultural mainstay and risky business because the more people post, the more real world personal information they expose. >> it is absolutely an objective risk. >> reporter: this privacy expert says the issue is geo tags, bits of gps data embedded in tweets and photos that give your exact geographic location. now a team has created ready or not a new online app that allows users to enter a twitter on instagram user id and track the user's position for 30 days. it's to educate you that geo tags from every post create an online trail of when, where and sometimes with whom you're going about your daily life. and it's information anyone can get. >> using the visualization we could city that it's actually creepier than we thought. >> reporter: for instance, watch what happens when i turn my twitter location service on. a quick tweet about my 5:00 story. >> in less than a second it shows her in the station. >> reporter: i'm not too concerned a

on the consumerwatch, julie watts explains why some of those deals may not be as great as they sound. >> reporter: it's become a sort of tradition. the black friday stampede also known as the official start of the holiday shopping season. but this season, expect some twists on the tradition. >> they all want to beat each other to the punch. >> reporter: he says more real tailors than ever including macy's, michael's and kohl's will be open on thanksgiving day. and walmart is trying to move black friday to this friday by price matching its competitors on certain black friday deals. >> walmart basically cherry picked the best black friday deals at their competitors. >> reporter: but how good are those deals? well, he says they are a mixed bag. >> they tend to be models on the shelves for a little while or models that aren't necessarily the cream of the crop. >> reporter: like this 50" element l.e.d. hdtv that target's offering for just $229. it is a bargain, even if it's not a top brand. this xbox 360 is only $99 at walmart dated maybe but it's a steal compared to the new xbox 1. not al

it only duplicates. >> reporter: julie watts, kpix5. >> a recent study out of usc found 20% of tweets gave away their author's location right down to the street. >>> something is killing california starfish and marine biologists are baffled. the creatures are stricken with the disease that causes them to lose their arms and disintegrate. the sea star wasting disease is caused by bacteria normally seen in el nino years, but this is not one of those years. >> it could be an outbreak because the populations are so, so large. it could be nature's way of diminish being the population. >> scientists say they're seeing the -- diminishing the population. >> scientists say they're seeing the disease in starfish from california to alaska. >>> i'm baffled why there hasn't been any rain. >> this could be the exact opposite of an el nino year. we had rainfall the second day of autumn. we have not seen a drop of rain since, haven't seen any rainfall at all since september 21st. a live look outside tonight, election day is tomorrow. so we've got red, white and blue colors on city hall here in san fr

as julie watts on the consumerwatch explains, it n ad to getting >>> car owners get recalls, notices from service campaigns of the manufacturer. what if you already paid for the repair? as julie watts on the consumerwatch explains, it is a long road to getting reimbursed. >> reporter: just really enjoy driving it. >> reporter: sally was actually happy to get a letter from bmw informing her there was a problem with her mini's power steerin pump. one months earlier she paid her mechanic $2,000 to fix the same problem and the letter from bmw clearly stayed mini owners who had already done the repair could expect at least some reimbursement. >> i thought oh, great. i should get some of my money back. >> reporter: but when the retired teacher filed a claim with bmw, it went nowhere. and consumer lawyer says she is not alone. >> the government has complaints on file that bmw is not carrying out to me reimbursement to consumers as -- the reimbursement to consumers as they say. >> reporter: they are required to fully reimburse customers who already repaired their cars but this wasn't exactly

. >>> more people tip their waiters about 15% or 20% if the service is really good but as julie watts shows us you may be going home with a bigger tab than you signed up for. >> reporter: some of san francisco's best restaurants are leaving a bad taste in the mouth of diners. >> i felt ripped off. >> it wasn't the meal or even the bill that upset her after dining at chia while on a business trip in the city. it's what she found days later when she checked her corporate credit card statement. >> i took my credit card receipt home with me and when i was filling out my expense report i noticed a discrepancy. >> her credit card had been charged $5 more than she had written on the receipt, something she says she wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't been required to reconcile her corporate card. but she wasn't exactly surprised. >> so a friend of mine who also works and actually lives in the city had this happen to her and her husband repeatedly over time. restaurants were upcharging a dollar or $5 in one case, $18 on their bill. >> it's called tip padding. increasing your tip after you've s

julie watts shows us why you should think twice about those old email accounts you haven't checked in years. >>> reporter: >> it says you have the user name of your dream. >> reporter: when yahoo recycled a batch of abandoned email addresses this year, leslie jumped at the chance to request her childhood nickname for her email address. >> rosebud@yahoo.com. >> reporter: with you she realized it was someone else's security nightmare. >> i started getting personal emails, phone bills, emails from a child's school with private information. >> reporter: her new in box quickly filled up with mail intended for the old rosebud includes password resets ebills, even emails regarding obamacare accounts. >> here's one that says only to be opened by her. >> it's a major privacy problem. >> reporter: the electronic frontier foundation says is people assume it's theirs forever. >> the recycling of email addresses creates a high risk that personal information will end up in somebody else's hands. >> reporter: yahoo isn't alone. microsoft has been quietly recycling email addresses for years and it's

julie watts, kpix 5. >> go pick it up. and you california law would you have the right -- under california law you would have the right to sue if would seek the same deal elsewhere but it would be a long process in small claims court. >>> it is 4:46. lawrence, in between chomping on turkey, he has been checking on the weather forecast. >> i had a turkey cookie already this morning. >> your little girl made it. >> yup. some good stuff. thankful to be here guys with you today on this thanksgiving. and yes, it looks like it will be a good day ahead, clouds moving across our skies. but right now looks like it's going to stay dry. got a great thanksgiving ahead here as we are going to see a mix of sun and clouds throughout the day. a little cool in spots. 37 degrees in santa rosa now 47 in san jose and 49 degrees in san francisco. as we head throughout the afternoon, we'll see some sunshine and some clouds moving on through. and then more sunshine and some dry weather as we look toward the weekend. in fact, some of the temperat

on the consumerwatch, julie watts shows us what every j applicant should have to coe >>> job hunters these days need more than a resume'. on our consumerwatch, julie watts shows us what every job applicant should have to compete in today's market. >> reporter: jim kelly has plenty of experience. what the job hunter doesn't have a personal website. >> when you are looking for work, there are two critical factors key to your success, visibilities and credibility. by having an online presence with your own website that helps you build both. >> reporter: this career coach and author says while personal websites used to set a part from other job seekers they are becoming a necessity to stay relevant. and you no longer need to be a techie to create one. there are three popular software to build one. simply having a personal website isn't enough. you need to know how to use it. >> recruiters are going to turn to the internet to find you and they are going to plug in certain words so keywords are critical. >> reporter: she suggests incorporating keywords relevant to your field, like industry

all-out to get us to empty r wallets this holiday seasont julie watts explains why so deals that sound too good t true...might be. >>> retailers are going all out to get us to spend money this holiday season but julie watts explains why some it deals that sound too good to be true are. >> reporter: it's become a sorts of tradition, the black friday stampede also known as the official start of the holiday shopping season. but this season, expect some twists on the tradition. >> they all want to beat each other to the punch. >> reporter: he says more retailers than ever including macy's, michael's and kohl's will be open on thanksgiving day and walmart is trying to move black friday to this friday by price matching its competitors on certain black friday deals. >> walmart basically cherry picks the best black friday deals of their competitors. >> reporter: how good are those deals? well, ong says they are a mixed bag. >> they tend to be models on the shelves for a little while or models that are not necessarily the cream of the crop. >> reporter: like this 50" "l.e.d. hdtv that target is

julie watts has her story. >> try to find you a ride for sunday. there won't be anybody here to lift the wheelchair into the car. >> reporter: for maxine strickland, getting out to go to church or see friends or shop is not easy. >> start from the side. >> reporter: that's because this 94-year-old retired schoolteacher is a double amputee. and for the last decade, maxine has relied on tridelta transit's 88 bus program to get around. like every transit agency in the u.s. tridelta is required to offer special door-to-door services for the disabled but lately she has been house-bound. >> it's boring and i feel lonely. >> reporter: the company says it gives about 100,000 88 compliant rides a year but the problem with maxine comes down paperwork. federal law requires all ada transit riders to reapply for bus service every three years. several months ago they contacted her to get her application process going and that's where the wheels on this bus fell off so to speak. >> i want to know what is going on. >> reporter: maxine filled out the forms and they

on the consumerwatch, julie watts is live in san jose to explain why. julie. >> reporter: yeah, liz. you know, this year most stores are offering those door busters in store and online, which begs the question, why are people like this actually waiting in line? jackie has been here since 9:00 this morning. your brother was here since 9:00 yesterday morning. why not just shop online? >> for the pure adventure and the good deals. >> reporter: well for those of you who want to skip the adventure and want the door busters online, a warning tonight: just because you buy a door buster doesn't mean you get to keep it. every year about a week before christmas -- >> i was livid. >> reporter: -- we get flooded with complaints about online black friday deals. >> i went online thanksgiving night. it was there. i grabbed it. >> i put my credit card information. >> got an order confirmation and i thought, i'm good to go. i don't have to look for any other tvs. >> reporter: but then days later after all the other black friday deals expires -- >> they sent an email say

our julie watts told us it took her an hour this afternoon just to navigate the parking lot. shoppers still have a couple more hours to take advantage of those deals tonight. >>> seems like we have seen this every year shoppers getting into fights on black friday. this one goes to an extreme. it broke out about 2:30 a.m. at a mall in a philadelphia suburb. during all this fighting, one shopper decided to use a stun gun, taser, as people traded punches. no worth if anyone was arrested for that. >>> and at a texas walmart it was a deal for tvs that touched off a fight. you can already see the huge crowds that gathered. one witness says people started pushing one another and that's when things got out of control. police then stepped in to break up the fight. >>> at a walmart in georgia, the workers got swarmed and stampeded by shoppers trying to get their hands on tablet computers. you see the employees were trying to keep people away warning of the wait. once those tablets were wheeled out, the shoppers ignored instructions and chaos set in. >>> this crowd is over televisions a

on the consumerwa julie watts explains how th >>> a startup headed by three teenagers is about to get the boot. on the consumerwatch, julie watts explains how this company with a great idea is hitting some pretty rough spots right now. >> reporter: we told you about flightcar earlier this year when it rolled out. it's a car sharing business for travelers who rent personal cars in exchange for free airport parking. sounds like a great idea. but neighbors don't think so and the company may be forced to pull up stakes again. it's opened in burlingame earlier this year and has now landed in millbrae where neighbors are complaining about constant noise, bright lights and crime. three cars have been stolen from flightcar's lot in four months. now millbrae's planning commission is recommending flightcar's permit be revoked citing a long list of problems like fire code violations and illegal use of a generators. >> we made some mistakes. we were under pressure to launch quickly early on so we launched, you know, in some ways that -- where not everything was sort of laid out properly. >> there

. >> but as kpix 5's julie watts reports, one bay area woman was housebound for weeks until she called consumer watch. >> there won't be anyone here to lift the wheelchair into the car. >> for maxine strickland getting out to go to church, see friends, even buy a gallon of milk is no easy task. >> you have to start from here on the side. >> reporter: that's because this 94-year-old retired school teacher is a double-a mputee, and for the last decade she has relied on tri-delta transit's ada bus program to get around. like every transit agency in the u.s., tri-delta is required to offer special door-to-door services for the disabled. but lately maxine has been housebound. >> i feel so lonely. >> reporter: tri-delta transit says it gives 188,000ada compliant rides a year but federal law requires all ada drift riders to reapply for bus service every three years. about three months ago, the agency says it contacted maxine to get her application process going, and that's where the wheels on this bus fell off, so to speak. >> i want to know what is going on. >> reporter: maxine filled out th

julie watts shows us why you should think twice about those old email accounts you haven't checked in years. >> it says you have the use your name of your dreams. >> reporter: when yahoo recycled a batch of abandoned email addresses this year leslie jumped at the chance to request her childhood nickname for her email address. >> rosebud@yahoo.com. >> reporter: it was a nightmare. >> i started getting personal emails, phone bills, email from a child's school with private information. >> reporter: her new inbox quickly filled up with mail instead intended for the old rose bus including password resets, e bills and other things. >> it's a major privacy problem. >> reporter: the electronic frontier foundation says the problem is people assume their email address is theirs forever. >> the risk now that they have this new practice of recycling email addresses is very high that things like other accounts or personal information is going to end up in somebody else's hands. >> reporter: and yahoo isn't alone. microsoft has been quietly recycling email addresses for years and it's becoming stan

on our consumerwatch tonight julie watts reports chemicals linked to serious health problems have been found in items made specifically for kids. >> reporter: we're talking about kids' chairs, couches and other furniture purchased from retailers throughout the u.s. many are covered in popular children's characters and most contain hazardous chemical flame retard dance according to a new report from the center for environmental health. duke scientists tested it the polyurethane foam inside products like these and found 90% contain the chemicals. some like this chair sold at bye-bye baby even contained a chemical banned from children's clothing back in the '70s and identified as cancer-causing but by the state of california. the chemical industry argues they add a layer of fire protection and help products meet fire safety standards but those standards are set to change in january. ces is now asking manufacturers to offer flame retardant-free products and clearly label those containing the chemicals. >>> well, the store known for shunning those who aren't, quote, cool and attractive kids

julie watts, kpix5. >> we need more than a dorm buster, we need a storm buster. open the storm door, maybe we should get in the front of line. >> they keep coming and coming. love them. >> not for a lack of storms out there, but they keep missing us. that will change for next week. that will be good news for you. we have been cloudy, we will stay that way through thanksgiving and hanukkah. tomorrow, a lot of you heading out of town. sacramento tomorrow, partly sunny, 66. ukia up near 70. slight chance of a shower, 56, heading up to tahoe. the reason why we have more rain fall to the south, more sunshine. it's only a couple hundred miles goff shore. we're going to miss out on the rain fall around here, but we will be cloudy. thanks giving will be slow through and southern arizona. so, missing e us, what moves in after that inform another big ridge of pry pressure. the pressure will come back which has been a dry month. we had two days of rain fall. it will be a dry end to a dry november. it's going to get wintery, in the form of cooler weather. rough surf tomorrow

as kpix 5 consumerwatch reporter julie watts reports, cell phone carriers are trying to kill the idea of a kill switch. why? >> reporter: well, you know, a kill switch is an anti-theft device. it's a measure that renders stolen phones inoperable. samsung is ready to install the kill switch. the big u.s. cell phone carriers are standing in the way. san francisco d.a. george gascon says at&t, verizon, sprint, t-mobile and u.s. cellular have all come out against a plan to install kill switches in mobile phones. gascons says he says they want to continue to shake down their customers for billions of dollars in theft insurance premiums. so while cell phone makers like samsung seem to be on board, the rest of the cell phone industry contends the kill switch could allow hackers to disable someone else's phone. one out of every three crimes in san francisco involves a cell phone. >>> the national highway traffic safety administration is launching an investigation into three battery fires involving tesla electric cars. the company's ceo says tesla itself requested this investigation to put saf

but julie watts discovered how much we're revealing. >> reporter: twitter, facebook, instagram, social media is a cultural mainstay and risky business. because the more people post, the more real world personal information they expose. >> it is absolutely an objective risk. >> reporter: this privacy expert says the issue is geo tags, bits of gps data in tweets and photos that give your exact location. now a team of berkeley scientists has created ready or not, a new online app that allows users to enter an id and track the user's locations for the past 30 days. no, it's not intended as a stalking tool. rather, to educate you that geo tags from every post can create an online trail of when, where and sometimes with whom you're going about your daily life. and it's information anyone can get. >> using this visualization, we could see that it's actually creepier than we thought. >> reporter: for instance, watch what happens when i turn my twitter locations services on. >> in less than a second it shows you she is in the station. >> reporter: now, i'm not too concerned about tweeting the s

julie watts, kpix 5. >> time is 6:47. and drivers are going to be thankful for our lack of traffic this morning. >> you know, it's been a really nice commute for many areas, anne and frank, because of the thanksgiving holiday. not too much going on out there but we are keeping an eye on this accident which just cropped up in the bay point area. so this is eastbound highway 4 near the bay point exited. a four cash crash, two lanes shut down, injuries involved. traffic still light in both directions of 4 between bay point and concord. moving to the san mateo bridge, westbound traffic still looking good approaching the toll plaza. we haven't had any delays for any of our bridges. so be thankful for that. westbound traffic leaving the oakland area bound for san francisco looking good. and you can park for free in the city. parking meters will not be enforced today on this thanksgiving holiday. 880 as it rolls outside of the oakland airport no big traffic delays there. 880 is fine approaching hegenberger. and in the silicon va

. >> julie watts, kpix5. >> wow, we're enjoy thanksgiving, astronauts aboard the national space station will be enjoying their own feast out of bags. on the menu, turkey, thermal stabilized yams, freeze dried green beans. it's something. >> you know, aren't you mildly curious what it tastes like? sounds interesting. >> i'm just like hoping the air keeps going through the thing and the lights stay on. >> and maybe we need to irradiate our turkeys after seeing julie's story, it's not a bad idea. >> well, not trying to tell you what to do on thanksgiving, but you never know. live look outside. mainly cloudy skies, acting like a blanket. there's a shot of the bay bridge. overnight lows will not be as chilly as the past couple nights because we have that cloud cover. fremont, wake up to 44 tomorrow. kids are off to school. 48 degrees for you. napa 43 and san jose, 46 degrees. perhaps tomorrow or thursday, lucky you, it will be cloudy day tomorrow, but no rain fall. high of 63. watch out for rough turf on thursday and friday. a high risk of rip current along the beaches in the bay area. rough

but julie watts shows us -- why you may be g home with a bigger tab... tn you >>> when you go out to eat do you tip 15%? many 20%? why you may be going home with a bigger tab than you signed for. >> reporter: some of san francisco's best restaurants are leaving bad tastes in the mouths of some diners. >> i felt ripped off. >> reporter: it was not the meal or the amount. it is what she found days later. >> i took my credit card receipt home with me. when i was filling out my expense report i noticed a difference. >> reporter: her credit card was charged $5 more than on the receipt. something she would not have been noticed if she had not been required to reconcile the card. >> a friend of mine that works and lives in the city had this happen to her and her husband reportedly over time. restaurants up charging $1, $5, in one case $18 on their bills. >> reporter: it is called tip padding. increasing the tip after you signed it. it is not isolated to restaurants in san francisco. >> that is not what i put on the receipt. >> reporter: matthew had his $9 tip i

our julie watts on the extreme measures the white house is doing in order to get people to signed up. >> reporter: the white house is sending emails to people inviting them to come back and reattempt enrollment. fewer than 50,000 people have been reportedly able to sign up. we're still hearing from viewers who can't sign up on california's website no matter how hard they tried. >> it's acting even worse. >> jeff howard knows a lot about the cover california site. he has been trying to sign up for obamacare for month. >> i have spent upwards from eight to 10 hours total. he says . >> he says every time. >> i get an error message. >> hen he calls for help. >> they basically take me through the same steps i am doing online until we get to the enrollment process and they receive the same error on their and i am getting. >> dana howard 50 mitts there have been issues with some sign ups but they they are being addressed. >> they need to be persistent and patient. >> your expected weight time is within 20 minutes. >> and while some like jeff are losing patience, howard says the average weigh

and as julie watts on the consumerwatch tells us, some worry it could get worse. they're quick and convenien- i think most people think 's a grab and go healthy alternative. but over 180-thousand pound ready to eat salads & wraps ...are being recalled in 8 states.. due to possible eci contamination. - pop dressing top they were sold in california under a variety of names including traderjoes brand . super fresh sold at whole f. and delish salads sold at walgreens. so far. 26 people are sick - some as young as 4 years ol- and two have gone into life threatening kidney failure. i would expect to see these numbers rise food safety lawyer bill marr says s contain ch >>> over 180,000 pounds of redty to eat 158ed as and rats are being recalled in eight states due to possible e-coli contamination. they were in variety under variety of names, including trader joe's, super fresh at whole foods and delicious salads at walgreen. so far, 26 people are sick, some as young as four and two have gone into life threatening kidney failure. food safety expert says hail most of the p

julie watts, kpix 5. >> all three website builders are for. for their links go to kpix5.com and click on links and numbers. >>> a vital passage between halloween and thanksgiving. we'll be right back. ,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the fourth bore of the caldt for business. t >>> here is a look at this morning's top stories. >> the tunnel is now open for business. the project opened up ahead of schedule this morning at about 4:20. drivers going in reverse could move in directions between oakland and they are likely to see the biggest improvements in their daily travel time. >>> a glitch in a contract agreement that could send bay area transit workers back on strike. unions representing the bart workers ratified the deal. but when it was reviewed before the bart scheduled vote, there was a big problem at the clause over the paid family leave. bart insists that it was a mistake and the board wants to renegotiate it. >> and our hero, the batkid saving gotham city as thousands looked on yesterday. 5-year-old miles took on the evil riddler of the penguins.

. >>> things people do before cooking the turkey, but on the consumer report, julie watts is about to show us contamination can come on your bird. >> reporter: watch what happens when we turn out the light. we covered this turkey in a substance called glow germ. check out the counter next to the sink and over here feet away, take a look at the fridge. all of this potentially dangerous bacteria spread across the kitchen simply because you tried to wash it away. >> before cooking your turkey, what is the very first step. >> rinse it off in the sink. >> rinse it. >> start washing it, of course. >> according to research, that is a bad idea. >> once you start to introduce water, you start to give that bacteria the chance to mobilize. they can't fly. they can't jump. but once you give them water, they can start to move around in the kitchen environment. >> she says if germs were visible to the naked eye, you would see that washing poultry doesn't kill bacteria. rather spreads it as far as that feet. contaminating countertops, nearby dishes, other foods you may not cook. >> in literature, th

julie watts on their long fight to get their money back. >> kept asking why can't you tell us where the check was cashed? >> reporter: lucy and daniel babbior knew right away this $3,000 check they mailed out to pay their monthly credit card bill had fallen into the wrong hands. when the credit card company never got it, they went online to check their vanguard money market account. the endorsing signature was illegible, the original payee crossed out and the check cashed by someone else. >> wow, someone forged our check. >> reporter: it was drawn from their account that held nearly $40,000 when lucy and daniel called vanguard with questions, the couple says instead of answers they got accusations. >> how do we know that you guys didn't forge this and cash it and now you're asking us to essentially make double payment? >> reporter: weeks went by. the couple filed a police report, filled out the required fraud reporting documents with vanguard and even sent a letter to vanguard's ceo asking by who, where and how their check was cashed. >> this is the most recent e- mail. >> reporter: van

consumerwatch reporter julie watts explains. >> reporter: it was a car fire heard 'round the world. well, the first of three-car fires actually. but these high-end electric teslas are no ordinary cars. so each battery fire over the past six weeks has made headline news. >> it seems like maybe we get an unusual amount of attention. >> reporter: and tesla's ceo elon musk thinks all the attention is unfair. lighting up the twitter sphere today he asked why does a tesla fire with no injury get more media headlines than 100,000 gas car fires that kill hundreds of people every year? the answer? depends on who you ask. >> it's probably the automobile industry. >> reporter: some blame the competition like this tweet because the auto and oil industries hate you. others blame a government conspiracy. >> government makes more money on gasoline. they don't make money on batteries. >> reporter: but the experts at edmunds.com point to human interest. >> i think that tesla has captured the imagination and fascination of americans. >> reporter: she points to a combination of high-end technology and

kpix 5 consumerwatch reporter julie watts reports. >> reporter: i'm here with jackie. your brother was in line yesterday morning at 8:00. you have been here since 8:00 this morning. >> correct. >> reporter: doors open tomorrow. what are you in line for? >> two fire chain candles, a 42 "plasma tv and camera for my brother. >> reporter: all awesome door busters but there's a limited quantity. if you aren't hanging out with jackie you probably won't get one of those door busters but before you ditch thanksgiving dinner for a door buster buyer beware. many of the other so-called black friday deals are duds. it was the night before thanksgiving and all through the store, deals, sales and door busters plastered from ceiling to floor. but for those not already camped out in line, door busters are unlikely and the remaining deals not always so fine. >> just because something has a 50% off sticker on it does not mean it's the lowest price. >> reporter: mark locastro from deal news analyzes some sales. >> some retailers mark up the price high and put a discount on it. >> reporte

. >> wait till you see what happens when julie watts turns off the lights. >> we've covered the turkey to alum nate the bacteria you're trying to wash away. tafk a look at my hand. check out the counter next to the sink, and take a look at the fridge feet away. all of this potentially dangerous bacteria spread adaughters or sons kitchen simply because we tried to wash it away. >> once you try to introduce water you start to give the bacteria a chanceing to mobilize. tla can't fly. they can't jump, but once you give them water, they can start to move around in the kitchen environment. >> she says if germs were visible, you would see washing poultry doesn't kill bacteria, rather spreads it as far as 3 feet contaminating counter tops, nearby dishes, other foods you may not cook. >> in the literature they call ate aerosalization. you've got tiny spray. >> a spray that can be dangerous. according to the center for disease control, over 100, 000 people are hospitalized each year due to food borne illness, but seems in spite of the warnings, old habits die hard. >> this thanksgiving, i will.

on the consumerwatch, julie watts shows us how one college student is proving you don't need a ton of cash to get through school. >> reporter: couch 30 bucks, microwave and toaster oven were free. >> reporter: it may sounds like the price is right but he is no drew carey. >> i'm david levitz. >> reporter: he is the contest winner. the prize hundred dollars door number 2, $6,800 furnished bike websites. the challenge, david must borrow and rent his way through a semester in a social experiment called the rented life. >> we are moving from a economy from consumers who want to own to access. >> reporter: he says college costs continue to skyrocket predicted to hit $287 billion this year, students strapped for cash are hungry for new ways to save. and owning stuff is becoming passe. renting is the new black. >> students are really a neat segment and trying to come up with different out there concepts is the best way to reach them. >> there's a story in this video. >> reporter: so from showing david snapping up garage sale finds. >> these are the trials and tribulations we face and rented

julie watts on the consumerwatch shows us where to score gift card deals. >> reporter: yeah, who knew you could get such great deals. i have to tell you look at the great mall. the parking lot is packed. there's not a line for santa inside. there are lines for coach and michael courts. the madness says forget the presents i'm buying gift cards instead and you should know that if you are going to you don't have to pay face value. >> have you made your christmas list yet? >> reporter: grabbing goodies at black friday sales and lugging around shopping bags full of gifts is so 2001. >> you just got the gift card. let them pick. >> it's easier. >> reporter: this year millions of americans are saying who needs the hassle of searching for the perfect gift when savvy elves can snap up gift cards for nearly everyone on their list and in some cases get a gift card for themselves for free. >> look out for some of the promotions. >> reporter: mark locastro of deal news says if you play your cards rights, many restaurants offer bonus cards and coupons with every gift card purchase. >> so it's very

on the consumerwatch, julie watts explains, there is talk of a turkey shortage! >> reporter: it's the main dish at most thanksgiving meals. >> the turkey. it's the centerpiece. >> the and the dressing. >> the turkey. >> reporter: more people want them fresh. >> i like the taste. >> it tastes better. >> reporter: fresh turkeys may be harder to find especially large. >> 10 to 16 pounds. >> reporter: manuel rodriguez of lucky's supermarket says butterball the nation's largest turkey producer is advising markets around the country to expect fewer fresh birds. >> we won't know until this week how many we're getting. >> reporter: butterball says it expects to ship about half its usual supply of big birds between now and thanksgiving. the reason? the company says it's tom turkeys, those that are supposed to weigh between 16 and 20 pounds aren't eating. in a statement, it says, we experienced a decline in weight gains at some of our farms. we are continuing to evaluate the causes. some grocers are crying "fowl" > this is the super bowl of the turkey season. >> reporter:

julie watts on the consumerwatch explains you can now replace cards with just one. >> reporter: it's a device called coin traded by a san francisco -- created by a san francisco startup. it went online today. it stores up to 8 credit, debit, gift or membership cards on one card. users switch by pressing a button. its creators say you can swipe the device on any conventional card reader or atm machine. the card costs $100 but coin is now accepting preorders for a discounted $55 including shipping although they went ship until summer 2014. >>> now for your daily dose of bad news. the fda says it's linked to cancer in animals and likely causes cancer in humans too. unfortunately, it's probably in most of your favorite foods. fry, chips, breads, coffee, the fda issued a warning about acrylamide. the content is generated during the cooking process especially in items fried, overcooked, brown or burned. according to the grocery manufacturers association 40% of the calories we consume contain acrylamide. cancer.gov says 248 degrees may be the magic number. items cooked above that temperatur

julie watts on the consumerwatch explains that extra protection may not pay off. >>> reporter: denise meyers hopes for the best but plans for the worst. so back in july, when meyers bought in used ford escape, she shelled out an extra $2,500 for a service contract. >> they said it's a used car and it will give you peace of mind so if something goes wrong you will be covered. >> reporter: but when the escape broke down 10 days later -- >> the service department informed me that the catalytic converter had melted and that that was the one thing that was not covered under my warranty. >> reporter: a month later when the car broke down again, that repair wasn't covered, either. >> i think what catches most people by surprise is what is not covered. >> reporter: the state department of insurance says most service contracts and repair agreements have lots of exceptions and often won't cover items that break most frequently. bonnie was shocked to find out the extended platinum warranty she bought for her 2012 prius didn't cover her wobbly arm rest. >> i was told by the finance manager that t

on our consumerwatch, julie watts on the state's surprise rejection of president obama's plan. >> if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. >> reporter: first he promised they could keep them. >> if you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan. >> reporter: then people getting cancellation notices in the mail because their policies didn't meet the new requirements of the affordable care act. >> so there was quite a bit of stick ever shock for us. >> reporter: so the president, facing pressure from his own party, decided to amend the affordable care act so to speak. >> but the bottom line is insurers "can" extend current plans that would otherwise be canceled into 2014. >> reporter: the key term, can extend. california insurers don't want to so today the head of "covered california" said they are not going to. >> the only thing we could have done is to delay a problem, to delay a problem in the middle of open enrollment that's actually working really well. >> reporter: peter li the head of the state's health insurance marketplace said it won't allow polici

we warned you about it before but julie watts on the consumerwatch explains, crooks are coming up with new ways to pull it off. >> reporter: bill was caught off guard by the call. >> they said hi, congratulations, you won this publishers clearinghouse 1.5 million. >> reporter: but he immediately realized there was nothing to celebrate when the caller told him he would need to buy a money card to claim his prize. >> i said, you know, this is, dude, this is a scam. i know it's a scam. >> reporter: and the scam is thriving. >> it's another easy way for people to get your money. >> reporter: laurie wilson. better business bureau says crooks are calling and texting saying anything and everything to convince people to buy prepaid credit cards. their only goal, to get victims to reveal the numbers on the back. >> once i have given you my card number and you have taken the money, it's -- it may as well be cash. >> reporter: the irs just issued this warning about scammers pretending to be irs agents telling people they oh, back taxes and they have to pay with a prepaid card. >> damn! >> reporte

consumerwatch reporter julie watts on the rather gross things you would never want to put on or in your food. >>> reporter: they heighten flavor, add tang and heat but is teams many spices contain more than just flavor, it seems. a new report by the fda finds 12% of u.s. spice imports are contaminated with insect parts, dirt, rodents and salmonella. the american spice trade association says the report shows only part of the pictures. >> spices are primarily grown in developing countries. >> reporter: she says most spices are grown in countries around the equatedder with favorable climate conditions like india and indonesia. they are then shipped to the u.s. on huge barges where there's more opportunity for contamination. the fda's tests were conducted shortly thereafter. but dean says in most cases, spices get a thorough cleaning after they enter the country. >> once it hits the u.s. shores, it typically goes to either a commercial treatment facility or directly to a spice manufacturer here in the u.s. that's going to treat it for pathogens. they will do extensive cleaning of the produc

as julie watts on the consumerwatch explains, it's not always easy to fix. >> take weeks if not longer to fix. >> reporter: for michael naughton tv is a necessity. >> i'm stuck here most of the time. >> reporter: and that necessity got for expensive in june when his directv bill jumped more than $37 in one month something the quadriplegic didn't realize until four months later because he uses auto pay. >> it's automatically deducted from my account. >> reporter: turns out directv had started big him for nfl sunday ticket even though he says he never asked for it. >> i don't watch football. i watch the news and i see who won this and that and i like the highlights. >> reporter: and we found complaint after complaint from directv customers saying they too were enrolled in nfl sunday ticket without asking for it. >> this is something called negative option marketing. >> reporter: consumer advocate joe rideout says it's a tactic that leaves consumers paying for something they didn't buy. directv says in naughton's case it was actually the auto renewal of a free trial for nfl sunday tickets

watts explains why that's not such a great idea. >> reporter: as you know, we are collecting monetary donations here tonight and that has some asking why not collect canned goods and clothing? the answer, sometimes sending your stuff overseas can do more harm than good. pictures like these of starving fill.no children begging for food -- filipino children begging for food triggered the instinct to help and while collecting canned goods may seem like the answer, following disasters like the typhoon and the 2014 indonesian tsunami, think about how much time and money it takes to actually get this food to these people. according to the red cross, between sorting, packaging, shipping and distributing it could cost more than $15 to get just one can overseas. not only does it take up valuable runway space, but that same $15 can be used to purchase 10 times the food from filipino stores and cities spared by the storm like the capital, manila, providing a much-needed stimulus for the local economy. the same is true for donated shoes and clothing. following the 2004 tsunami, clothes including

as consumer watch reporter julie watts explains, it will help some businesses more than others. >> i think we have it hear. >> green apple books in san francisco is a paradise for readers and a pretty good place for employees, too. >> we have had health insurance for our employees since the 80s. >> and the coowner has been considering buying that coverage in a new way. through obamacare program called shop. it stands for small business health options program. >> biggest problem is going to be. >> and its roll out comes as many small business owners who offer health insurance for their employees are receiving double digit rate increases from insurers who say their current plans don't fit the requirements of the affordable care act. >> they are going to have to two find their own insurance. i'm sorry. >> small bizone says shop could help. >> it -- small business owner says s.h .o.p. could help. >> gives them the buying power that bigger businesses have. >> they explain once an employer picks the level of coverage they want to buy, employees then get to pick the insurer they want. s.h .

and as julie watts on th ideas thousands of pounds of popular ready-to-eat foods are being recalled after people from three states got sick. consumer watch reporter screwly watt tells us some worry it could get worse. >> they are quick and convenient. >> most people think it is a frab and go healthy alternative. >> but over 180,000 pounds of ready to eat 15850s and wraps are being recalled in eight states due to possible e-coli contamination. they were sold in california under a variety of names, including trader joe's brand name super fresh sealed whole foods and delicious 158ed a sold at walgreen. 26 people are sick. some as young as 4 years old and two are gone into life- threatening kidney failure. >> i would expect to see these numbers rise. >> food safety lawyer says while most of the products contain chicken, it is unlikely that's what's making people sick because this particular strand of e-coli is usually linked to cattle. >> you look at cdc's report, not all the people who became sick recall eating this product. >> he is concerned the contaminated ingredient could be something w

but on the consumerwatch, julie watts many herble supplements may be missing a key ingredient, the herbs. >> reporter: dna tests on 44 popular supplements. one out of three herbal supplements had no trace of that supplement at all. they don't believe the issue is as bad as the study makes it appear. and hundreds of people who have health insurance are complaining they're being charged full price for flu shots at some pharmacies. it happened to us this weekend at safeway at a safeway pharmacy in san francisco. insurance providers are supposed to cover that flu shot. consumer advocates advise calling your insurance provider beforehand. >>> airplane manufacturer airbus is calling on airlines to keep seats 18 inches wide. the suspect cites a study from the london sleep study which found 1 inch makes a big difference. passengers in 18-inch seats reported falling asleep faster and staying asleep longer. this comes ahead of the new airbus 850. which the company has designed around 18-inch seats. >>> did you get a lollipop with your flu shot? >> i did get a lollipop. i made my husband get one to

on the consumerwatch, julie watts explains, it's a little complicated. >> reporter: yeah. the law requires that they reimburse you if it's a recall. but many car companies get around that by issuing what they call service campaigns instead. >> a service campaign is a weaker version of a safety recall. >> reporter: he says service campaigns are not regulated by the government and and carmakers are not obligated to pay for repairs. unlike a recall carmakers who issue service campaigns are not required to track down every affected car owner. so now you know. >>> best buy is rolling out the red carpet to people who are just looking this holiday season. the retailer has unveiled a series of commercials welcoming people who use a store to showroom. that's the term for people who visit stores to check products and then order them online. the hope is that folks who come to look will stay to buy. >>> and as we have been reporting a glitch caused walmart.com to temporarily sell outrageously low priced items like a $21 treadmill. they said they won't honor but in california they may

but on our consumerwatch tonight, julie watts says osha isn't taking any chances. >> reporter: the department of labor's occupational safety and health administration is warning retailers to abide by crowd management safety guidelines. five years ago a walmart employee was killed in a black friday stampede. [ screaming ] >> reporter: now, this target trample is from 2011. had they abided by osha guidelines, this likely would not have happened. osha requires barricades set up so that the line does not start at the entrance of the storm. the barricades should have breaks and turns to prevent pushing, and crowds are supposed to be divided into small groups. the guidelines cover everything from uniformed guards, exits, and staff training in crowd management. >>> let's talk turkey. this is the week grocers around the country are getting their shipments of thanksgiving birds and while you will find plenty of frozen birds you may notice fewer fresh turkeys this year. butterball the nation's number one turkey producer says it will ship half its usual number of large fresh birds. some of its birds are